national bullying awareness month: ‘don’t be a monster’ anti-bullying campaign

That’s a sobering graphic. It shows, very matter-of-factly, that it’s not just the act of bullying that’s the problem…it’s how we react to the bully/the bullying that contributes to the situation. In my experience as being both a child and – for the past 4 years – as an adult that’s been bullied, there are way too many people in categories B, C, D, E, and F. The pain of being bullied often has more to do with those categories than the one bully ringleader.

So we’re told to ignore the bully and the situation will stop, and those of us that have tried that know it doesn’t work. A good bully has all those other sycophants participating, consciously or not, in the hurt, and the more you hurt? The more they enjoy what they’re doing.

What does help? Being willing to say, “That’s not ok,” and standing up to bad behavior.

And that’s a large part of what the Don’t be a Monster campaign is all about.

This campaign, using the slogan “monsters belong in haunted houses,” is working on bringing free 30-minute anti-bullying presentations to varied schools across the country. Some of the haunters involved in this are people I’m proud to say I know and have worked with, and I’m wicked proud of them for this project.